


Dinner with the chef

by Bichwhwifi



Series: hiatus fics [3]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Dinner, F/M, First Meetings, Meet-Cute, bad cook felicity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-11-13 10:23:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11183121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bichwhwifi/pseuds/Bichwhwifi
Summary: They meet at the grocery store and argue about pasta.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here is my second submission for the Olicity Hiatus Fic-A-Thon prompt was taste. The idea was a meet cute in a grocery store.  
> It took me a little longer to write than useal, this one has not been beta'd so there may be some spelling errors.

Food, if there was one love in her life, it was food. She loved it a lot and you could stay that it was the only real stable relationship she had in her life, well except for the time short period of time she went through during her finals at MIT. She tends to skip several meals and get through her day mostly only on coffee.

To put it in words Felicity wasn’t the best chef but she was able to make at least something simple, eatable but far from what you would find on your plate when at a five-star restaurant. So she was happy that her job as VP of Palmer Technologies recurred her to go out to dinner at least one a week for some kind of lunch meeting. Then there were the days she would stay in the office way too late and then her dinner would contain out one of the granola bars she held in her desk and a cup coffee. The rare times that she did make it home in time for dinner she would usually order take out anyway because she was way too tired to cook and clean up afterward.

It had been a long day filled with meetings and nagging board members coming to her office one by one to nag to her about how their new plans were doomed before they would even start production. After all of that she didn’t have the strength left in her body to stay late at the office, so going home a little early couldn’t hurt anybody right and her boss was out of town and even if he knew. He didn’t really care if she did.

The only thing was that she found out she forgot the most important part. Food, her fridge was empty, she literally didn’t have any food in her apartment but the empty fridge wasn’t going to stop her. She needed to do something to keep her hands busy, something other than work and cooking herself a simple dinner was just what she needed because from ordering big belly from time to time, well it was giving her a big belly.

It would only be a short five-minute walk to the closest grocery shop that was still opening. She didn’t even know what she was going to make for dinner. The discussion she had with herself on her way to the grocery store didn’t help her come up anything. So even after wondering around the store for some time she finally stopped in front of the pasta aile but once there, she still had to pick what kind of pasta she was going to pick. Who was going to care if she was still in the same dress as she wore to work, her hair in a messy ponytail and traded her heels for her way more comfortable panda flats.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

The last Wednesday on of the only days of he had during the month and it also was the night him and Thea would both make time to have a normal dinner together. Between his job as the full-time head chef at Verdant and Thea as the full-time manager of the nightclub of the same name. They only were apart by a mile or so but both of their schedules weren't really forgiving, so they literally had to plan their time together.

Thea had called him that she would be a little later because there had been a problem with on of the liquor distributors and Roy didn’t know how to handle it alone. It took Oliver a while to get over the fact that his little sister was all grown up and in a healthy relationship. Something she didn’t get from him and he was proud of that. He was happy for her and he could see so much of their mother in her.

So here he was shopping for groceries because he had forgotten to get them yesterday after he had finished work. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be here but he’d rather be at home cooking his dinner already.

“Mac and cheese or real food. That’s the question.” her heard a feminine voice whispered. Looking for the person who the voice belonged to her found a petite blond holding a box of inkstand Mac and cheese in her hands while standing in front of the pasta and looking up at the rest of the options in front of her.

“Well, that is the question we need an answer to some day.” He said in a whisper when he walked passed her, he just couldn’t stop himself from doing so. For some reason, he recognized the voice from somewhere but he couldn’t make himself put a name to the voice just yet but he had seen that blond pony tale before.

She turned around in shock as soon as she heard him say it so that she could see who was standing behind her. Once she turned around and he saw her face he knew instantly who it was that was standing in front of him. That blond hair and those big blue eyes that were always hidden behind her glasses, he could almost recognize them out of a lineup if he had too.

“Hi, I’m Oliver Queen.” He said holding his hand out waiting for her to shake it.

“Yeah, I know who you are. Everybody in Starling knows who you are since you competed on master chef. Even before that. Oliver Queen, the ex-billionaire playboy turned chef, now the head chef at Verdant, the most popular restaurant in town. So, yeah. I know who you are.” She started rambling as soon as wanted to open his mouth again to tell her that her that he was sorry for scaring her like he did.

“Sorry, for the rambling. I’m really hungry and really stressed out. Felicity Smoak.” She said holding out her hand after collecting her thoughts and trying to come back from her embarrassment after a short but awkward silence between the two of them.

“And is it wired to say that I know who you are?” He asked her after shaking her hand and tilting his head a little.

“Not really, I get it a lot these days. Being VP of a company as big as Palmer tech does take away a part of your privacy and I have to say; I eat at Verdant at least three to four times a month, if not more.” She said a little embarrassed playing with the box of Mac and cheeses in her hands.

“And I will thank you for that. So why were you talking to the pasta, if I could ask.” He said turning to the to shelve of pasta with a small smile forming on his lips.

“Well, I wanted to eat pasta but I’m not really that good of a cook. I wanted to make something different than Mac and cheese, something a bit healthier. And then I remembered that Mac and cheese is as far as my cooking skills go.” Felicity said while she was trying not to sound too stupid.

“Now that’s a big struggle for a random Wednesday evening.” Oliver replayed while ignoring his phone in his pocket that started to vibrate.

“It is, any suggestions as you being the chef between the two of us.” She asked with a small and shy smile on her face after she finally turned to face him again.

“Personally I would stick to the Mac and cheese but maybe change it op a bit. Throw in some bacon in. Not make it to difficult.” Oliver said before this time his phone went off at the same time as Felicity’s stomach made a rumbling sound.

“Sorry I have to take this.” He said after he saw Thea’s name flashing on his screen.

“Go ahead, I’m going to see if they still have the Sponge Bob Mac and Cheese.” She said turning on her heels and making her way back to the pasta.

“Speedy what’s up.” He said answering his phone while not taking his eyes of Felicity who was now crouched's down looking at the different kinds of kids Mac and cheese.

“I’m so, so sorry but I have to cancel. The distributor was late and forgot more than half of our order so we wouldn't have enough to open tonight. So I need to fix it before I’m able to go home.” He heard his sister, hearing the stress in her voice.

“Don't worry, I totally get where you’re coming from. It happens to all of us. I will see you for brunch on Saturday, right?”

“I’ll be there, I really have to go now. See ya.” She said before she hung up.

“Felicity, would you like to have dinner with me?” He made himself ask her, it had taken him a while but just seeing her comparing the two box’s that she was holding made him smile and feel something that he hadn’t felt in a long time.

“Dinner as in a date?” She looked up at him with surprise on her face.

“Dinner, as in me making dinner for the two of us. My sister just canceled on me and after a stressful day I think that Mac and cheese isn't  going to cut it.”

“And ya, as in a date.” He said after a small pause and helping her up from the floor.

“How could I say no to someone saving me from burning down my apartment and offering to make me dinner at the same time. And of course spent the time to get to know you better. I would like that very much.” She said while they made their way out of the ail.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“I have to admit, it’s been awhile since I’ve been on a date. Being VP and all doesn’t really give you much time for a social life outside of my office.” Felicity said after they walked through the store for a while.

“Same with me. Working at Verdant is a dream job but it also means working mostly in the evenings.” He said while picking a few things off the shelf's for their dinner along the way.

“Oh, I feel so bad for making you cook on your night off!” She stopped him right before they reached the checkout line.

“Don’t worry about that. I still had to make dinner for myself and now at least I have someone to keep me company while I cook.” He said after placing a hand on her shoulder as soon as he saw that she was a worrying way too much about everything.

“I walked here, my building is only five minutes away. If you want you could use my kitchen, it’s pretty big and I never really use it.” She said once they walked out of the store each of them caring a bag of groceries.

“Fine by me. My bike is parked a couple of block from here. Nothing big.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

On their walk to her building Felicity talked about how she ended up buying an apartment with a kitchen she barely used in the hope she would pick up cooking as a hobby. Because in her words ‘being a fully grown grown up and having cooking skills that stopped at boiling something was pretty sad’.

It made Oliver laugh a the fact that someone with the same amount IQ points as a genius still got disappointed about not being able to boil something without having anything go horribly wrong. He had to say even if this wasn’t the most normal first date, it was defiantly already better than most of the dates he had gone on in the last two years combined. He already knew more about what type of person Felicity Smoak was and the person walking and talking next to him, he really wanted to get to know all about her.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

It wasn’t every Wednesday that Felicity invited someone she barely knew into her apartment but Oliver wasn't just someone. The half hour she had exactly get to know Oliver, to her it felt like she knew him for years. She could he herself around him without getting an annoyed look every time she went one of her rambles went on a little bit too long.

“Welcome to my humble abode, don’t mind the papers everywhere. I didn’t really know before I went to get groceries, that there would someone coming home with me.” Felicity said when she opened the door to her apartment.

“When you said that you had a big kitchen, you weren’t kidding.I think it’s even bigger than mine.” She heard Oliver say when he followed her through her apartment to the kitchen.

“I know but it’s so beautiful and I fell in love with the apartment when I first saw it. The whole apartment is the way to big for me but it’s home for me.” She said before she sat the bag down on the kitchen island next to Oliver’s bag.

“The pan’s are up there. If you need anything, just let me know. I’ll grab us a bottle and some glasses.” She said after she showed him where most of the kitchen tools were and made her way to the pantry, to come back moments later with a bottle of her favorite rose.

It was nice, just talking about the most random and drinking some wine while Oliver made dinner for the two of them. Oliver even let her help with the vegetables while Oliver baked the salmon and for some reason what she made was eatable and she was really proud of that.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“So, your hair used to be black? I could never see you with black hair.” Oliver said after Felicity told him about her time at MIT after he told her about him having dropped out of four colleges.

“Just wait one moment.” She said ruched after drinking the last bit of rose that was still in her glass. She almost jumped off her chair seated at the bar in the kitchen where they ate their dinner.

Oliver followed her to the living room where she was seated on the floor with a box of photos. He saw on the clock that it was nearly eleven o’clock and looking back he saw the three now empty wine bottles.

“found it.” He heard the voice that he now loved to hear fill his ears.

“Well, that I never expected,” Oliver said as he sat down next to her and she gave him on of the photo’s of her in her full goth.

The two of them sitting on the ground of her apartment surrounded by papers and old photo’s, both a little drunk and smiling like idiots when looking at each other. He had to thank Thea for not being able to show up fro their dinner or else this would never have happened. “Can I kiss you?”

“I would like that very much."


	2. One more time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little look inside Felicity's and Oliver's relationship.

“Ray I’m going to tell you this one more time. I’m in a relationship and I’m not interested in going out with you, ever!!” She said as she stormed into Ray’s office after he had sent an another bouquet of flowers to her office with a card, asking her out to dinner.

“Felicity just drop the act, we all know that you spend all your free time working, you don’t have time to go out and meet someone,” Ray said not even looking up from the paperwork on his desk.

“Half of what you’re saying is true, I do work a lot because my boss just keeps pushing projects into my lap. Yeah, from the time I do work from home but the part about me not going out to meet people. You couldn’t be more wrong. I do have a life outside of work, you know. And what does your wife think about the fact that you are asking out one of your employee's.”

“Leave Anna out of this.” He said raising his voice while standing up from behind his desk. “Then why haven’t I met your boyfriend if everything you tell me is true?” He said walking closer to where she was standing while using his fingers as air quotes when he said the word ‘boyfriend’.

“Because I want to keep my work life as far away from my privet life as possible and why would I have to introduce my boyfriend to my boss in the first place.” She meant everything that she said, she knew from Oliver that he and Ray had some history while they both were in college. She already didn’t like Ray very much so him going all psycho on her, wasn’t really in her agenda any time soon.

“Because as your boss and you as my VP, you need to leave a good impression on the board members.” He said, moving even closer into her personal space.

“Oh, some of the board members have already met him, they loved him and for a change, they actually proved to have interested in my life outside of work and didn’t just want to have me as the other notch on your bedpost.” She said with out looking at him before she just walked right out of his office.

 

* * *

 

-

“How could you have so many empty drawers in your kitchen.” She heard Oliver say as she took off her heels and walked through the hall of their apartment to make her way to the kitchen.

“Like you said, my kitchen is way too big for me but now I have someone who can actually cook living with me.” She said before hugging him from behind before giving him a kiss on his shoulder.

“More space for all your cooking stuff.” She gave him a small slap on his chest before she jumped on the counter and took a bite out of the half eaten muffin that was sitting in between the opened boxes on the counter.

“Well, it’s a different story when talking about clothes, we still need to ensemble my closet,” Oliver answered before he took a bite out of the muffin.

“Which we will get to after we get everything done here and we finished our take-out pizza that I order on my way up here.” She said with a wink.

* * *

 

“So, do I need to come and stop by your work tomorrow while on my to work tomorrow, just to make Palmer loose the last bit of cool that he has left,” Oliver whispered into her hair, wrapping his hands just a little bit tighter around her waist.

Stipt six months ago the two of them were in the exact same position, wrapped around each other, in her very comfortable bed. The only differents this time around was that she didn’t regret a single thing she did the night before. It made her laugh every time she thought about that night but if that night hadn’t panned out the way it had, the both of them wouldn’t be lying here.

Yesterday had been Six months ago since the night he first cooked her dinner in her own kitchen, she had known he was a good chef before but watching him cook was something that relaxed her and she couldn’t get enough of it. Yesterday had also been the day she gave Ray a piece of her mind, Olive’s name had slipped out and the look on his face did it all. She didn’t want to brag, she knew that her IQ was higher by a few points than her boss’s but still, it took him a while to put two and two together.

“Nah, let him be. Or else he’ll fire me.” She said turning on her side to face him.

“Weren’t you going to quit in the first place?” Oliver asked her sounding surprised.

“Yeah, I am but I still want to be the one that gets's to be all cool and all by slamming my resignation letter on his desk before walking out of his office and not saying a single word while he’s yelling at me.” She said while sitting up straight, wrapping the duvet closer around her body and giving him a small slap on his chest.

It had been two months since Oliver had moved in, she was happy that she had finally found herself in a healthy relation ship of which her mother approved of, which was rare. After the first few months of living together Felicity had confessed to Oliver that she was sick of having Ray bossing her around, so he gave her the idea of starting all on her own.

“So, are you just going to sit there or do I have to make you come back to bed?” She heard Oliver whisper in her ear while he slowly pulled her back down in his strong embrace before facing her and giving her a kiss on her forehead.

* * *

 

_**A week later**_                  

“FELICITY!!! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!!” Ray yelled after her with her resignation letter in his hand while she made a sprint for the elevator.

It took everything in her not to turn around right then and there, she wanted it to be just like in the movies, she just wanted to get out of here and start on her own but she couldn’t do that if her former boss didn’t stop following her.

“Ray, get off my back. I don’t work for you anymore and what you’re doing right now, can be reported as assault you know that right?” She said as soon as he had made his way to the elevator with her.

“You’d never do that, or are you going to call your boyfriend to come after me?” He sneered at her while he had cornered her.

“Keep Oliver out of this, what ever happened between the two of you, leave it there. If you follow me out of this elevator right now, I will call the cops and I will press charges for that matter. You under stand me?” She said in her loud her voice with just mere moments to spare before the doors would open again and she walked out with out looking back.


End file.
